The Most Surprising Thing About Today's Jobs Report

After several months of weak and deteriorating payrolls prints, perhaps the biggest tell today's job number would surprise massively to the upside came yesterday from Goldman, which as we noted earlier, just yesterday hiked its forecast from 175K to 190K. And while as Brown Brothers said after the reported that it is "difficult to find the cloud in the silver lining" one clear cloud emerges when looking just a little deeper below the surface.

That cloud emerges when looking at the age breakdown of the October job gains as released by the BLS' Household Survey. What it shows is that while total jobs soared, that was certainly not the case in the most important for wage growth purposes age group, those aged 25-54.

As the chart below shows, in October the age group that accounted for virtually all total job gains was workers aged 55 and over. They added some 378K jobs in the past month, representing virtually the entire increase in payrolls. And more troubling: workers aged 25-54 actually declined by 35,000, with males in this age group tumbling by 119,000!

Little wonder then why there is no wage growth as employers continue hiring mostly those toward the twilight of their careers: the workers who have little leverage to demand wage hikes now and in the future, something employers are well aware of.

The next chart shows the break down the cumulative job gains since December 2007 and while workers aged 55 and older have gained over 7.5 million jobs in the past 8 years, workers aged 55 and under, have lost a cumulative total of 4.6 million jobs.

The same chart as above showing the full breakdown by age group - once again the 25-54 age group sticks out.

But young workers' loss is old workers' gain, as the following chart of total jobs held by those aged 55 and over shows. As of October, there was a record 33.8 million workers in the oldest age group tracked by the BLS - the same workers who, as noted above, also have the poorest wage negotiating leverage.

Finally, the most disappointing data point in today's report is that while overall labor growth was solid, the participation rate for workers 25-54, was 80.7%, far below is peak of just under 85%, and below the 80.8% at the end of 2014.

Yeah well lemme tell you where all these old people are working: Home Depot. Used to be you never saw middle aged / old people wearing a Home Depot or grocery store uniform. Now you see it all the time. These used to be entry-level, or next-to entry-level jobs, but no more. Now they are the only jobs to be had.

No comrad, is not finished, is only beginning! Kruschev is realize communist compulsion is ever lose against capitalist incentive, and only way prevail over USA is from inside, not with tank or weaponry, but by Socialist infiltration. Now almost 1/2 of House of Congress is adopt Socialist program (e.g. Obamacare), while other half is mambly mouth cannot is argue way out of paper sack. Almost 1/2 of population is dependency upon government hand out.

This is G. Edward Griffin's shocking video interview, Soviet Subversion of the Free-World Press (1984), where he interviews ex-KGB officer and Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov who decided to openly reveal KGB's subversive tactics against western society as a whole.

Thhe Frankfurt School got started on us in the 30's and 40', mostly german commies fleeing the Nazis. No doubt they ended up with foreign support, maybe soviet, but we put up with and coddled their sad asses in our academic hothouses.

grandpa fucked me out of my entry level job. would you please extend fafsa to at least age 40 so i can get several degrees in several majors and a few advanced degrees. the more eduction, the more valuable i am to society. (you taught me that). and please continue with the liberal grading criteria agenda, as #Everyone DeservesA's is a great policy and all work and no play makes for a dull life. of course, our fafsa grants are COLA +10% and of course (wink) i know my loans will be forgiven. by the time i am 40, i might be ready to contribute to this world. thank you, #NewWorldOrder=Hillary

The true right left paradigm is that the left is total govt and the right is anarchy. Folks decide where inbetween that they want to be. It seems that the two parties want us to believe that the balance is between them with either more or less of one or the other. Dont fall for that unless you like being pinned down between those two.

I would like to see us head back in the direction of anarchy and away from big govt. No I do not want anarchy just less govt.

The Baader-Meinhoff and Red Brigades false flags were run through the Operation Gladio networks by the CIA and MI5. The subversion was through the lying Western news media. During that time the Soviets complained about Western "revanchism". They were right and all the proof you need is The Ukraine takeover using the Bandarist networks we covertly kept alive for the right opportunity.

What constitutes "good"? For security/privacy, one might try the Tor browser, but that's based, I believe, on Firefox. The new Firefox version 42 has tracking protection, if that's what you're looking for. For most of us, Google and the NSA will still know everything about us, including the current color of your socks.

There is a large difference between TOR and Firefox. I am not geeky enough to really explain but suffice to say TOR hoops and frustrates the spy guys; anonoymizes the point of origin of traffic and way more. This, in my limited wish to understand the internal combustion engine or TV set....I am not claiming to know anything more than my 2 year search for privacy.

Tor has been mentioned by the spy guys. They don't like it because it is not easy to crack the back doors. So that is all I need.

Thats why you wont get hired, we need people who know how to use a hammer. Instead we are given girly boy feminists, that only understand facebook. I !@# you not, we had un an under 20s guy, who was putting feathers in his hair. I told him they have lice, whats wrong with you, he complained i was mean, and then got fired. The guy was useless couldnt add and subtact knew nothing, his commet was just google it, you dont need to know anything.

The comments above are a bit harsh and poorly expressed, but their essential point is good. If you're a service industry recruiter in what's left of the debased, debt-saturated economy, which would you choose: the younger person with less practical knowledge and experience and statistically greater unreliability and likelihood of flip-flopping between jobs, or the older person with a good resume, reliability, better education, interpersonal skills and commitment, and with lower expectations of the employer vis: long term opportunity, benefits and pension?

YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BEING "FREED UP" FOR MILITARY RECRUITMENT. THE PSYCHOPATHS ARE GOING TO NEED CANNON FODDER.

I agree. Take the broke guy/gal who has nothing saved OR had their minimal investments flushed in 2000 and again in 2008..and not get nothing from the casino and nothing from a bank? Employer will hire the older person who has a history of showing up. Who has a history of business and needs the job. Will hire a person who understands that taking personal phone calls and texting is not allowed. A person who is not covered in piercings and tatoos with multi-coloured hairdos. A person who dresses in a clean manner for the job.

Not the person with student loans who lives in the basement and uses every excuse for everything.